It is with great sadness I report to you the death of the magnificent band stallion, Conquistador. We were shocked to learn of his passing from our dear friend, Effie Orser, who noticed that she did not see him while visiting the scenic pasture where the three bands (Conquistador, Trigger, and Shane) live just outside of Wilsall, Montana. She searched and found his body in a small, grassy gully.

Several days later, Lauryn, our vet, Lisa Jacobson, DVM of Big Sky Equine Veterinary Service, and I went to see if we could tell what might have happened. There were no marks on his body or any wounds of any kind. The ground was completely undisturbed around his body ruling out colic or any other painful struggle. Lisa concluded that he died suddenly, but it was impossible to tell why. It could have been lightning. There was an electrical storm the day before Effie found his body. He could have had an aneurysm. When we looked in his mouth we could see his teeth were quite worn down, causing me to wonder if he was older than we might have imagined. His birth date is 1990 on the BLM roles. He was an adult bachelor stallion when I arrived on the scene in 1994, so I never knew exactly how old he was. He was in great condition, and he had stolen Trigger’s yearling daughter, Josie, just last month, so his drive to expand his family still burned in his stallion heart.

Continue reading A Tribute to Conquistador, by Ginger Kathrens →